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Book Description

Webcomics 2.0: An Insider's Guide to Writing, Drawing, and Promoting Your Own Webcomics is your comprehensive guide to webcomics creation, from initial concept to publication, and everything in between. Beginning with a brief introduction to get you familiar with webcomics-a comic book or comic strip that can be found on the internet-you'll learn about both the creative and the business aspects and come away with the information you need to write, draw, publish, and market your own webcomics. You'll be introduced to three popular types-humor, adventure, and manga-that incorporate the most common features found in many webcomics. Each example includes a web address so you can view the actual webcomic online, to see how it progresses in real time. And throughout the book you'll find tips and advice from experienced webcomic artists and writers. After you've seen the webcomics in action, you'll go in-depth with both the written and illustrated elements of story creation, exploring different story structures and approaches as well as storyboarding techniques including drawing, coloring, and lettering. The next step is exploring the available types of online hosting services as well as the benefits of self-publishing versus collectives. You'll also learn about a variety of low- and no-cost promotional ideas and how you can make money from your published webcomics. Whether you've dabbled in webcomic creation before or you're a novice, Webcomics 2.0: An Insider's Guide to Writing, Drawing, and Promoting Your Own Webcomics will teach you everything you need to publish your very own webcomics.

Table of Contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Authors
  4. 1. What Are Webcomics?
    1. The 2.0 Experience
    2. What This Book Will Teach You
    3. Hey—It’s Business
    4. Three Popular Types
  5. 2. Humor
    1. Video Games
    2. Science Fiction
    3. Autobiography
    4. Pop Culture
    5. The Versus Verses
    6. A Webcomic-Shaped Hole
  6. 3. Adventure
    1. The Drifter
      1. The Drifter: Characters
    2. Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
  7. 4. Manga
    1. The Character’s the Thing
    2. Edge the Devilhunter
      1. Edge
      2. Princess Tail
      3. Zelda the Goth
    3. OEL: Original English Language
  8. 5. Other Types of Webcomics
    1. Slice of Life
    2. Non-Sequitur and Off the Wall
    3. Combining Types
  9. 6. Gathering the Team
    1. One Creator, One Destiny
    2. The Creative Team
    3. Finding Talent
      1. A Fair Exchange
      2. Sign On the Dotted Line
      3. Stay in Communication
      4. It’s a Commitment
      5. Searching the Web for Talent
  10. 7. The Webcomics 2.0 Examples
    1. The Versus Verses
    2. The Drifter
    3. Edge the Devilhunter
      1. The Versus Verses
      2. The Drifter
      3. Edge the Devilhunter
  11. 8. The Writing
    1. The Character Bible
    2. The Comic Script
    3. Writing Structure
      1. Two Approaches
      2. The Story Arc
        1. Gag-a-Day
      3. Three Act Structure
        1. Act One: The Problem
        2. Act Two: The Complication
        3. Act Three: The Turning Point
      4. Rising Action
      5. Subplots
      6. Flashbacks
    4. Transitioning from One Webcomic to Another
    5. All Write Now
  12. 9. The Art
    1. Drawing a Webcomic: Step by Step
      1. Thumbnails
      2. Study the Script
      3. The Panel Borders
      4. Pencils Out
      5. Iced Ink
      6. Scanning It In
      7. Finished Art
      8. Color
      9. Lettering
    2. Saving the Art
      1. The Bleed
      2. Infinite Canvas to Finite Book Page
    3. Miscellaneous Art
      1. Art Extras
      2. Character Profiles
    4. Do the Evolution
    5. Conclusion
  13. 10. Getting Published
    1. Webcomics Hosting Services
      1. ComicSpace
      2. ComicGenesis
      3. DrunkDuck
      4. LiveJournal
    2. Webcomics Collectives
      1. Keenspot
      2. Blank Label Comics
      3. Modern Tales
      4. ACT-I-VATE
      5. The Chemistry Set
    3. Self-Publishing
      1. Choosing a Web Host
      2. Hard Coding
        1. ComicPress
        2. Setting It Up
        3. ComicPress Limitations
        4. Uh…I Don’t Get It
    4. A Final Note on Publishing
  14. 11. Promotion
    1. No-Cost Promotion
      1. A Community of Potential Fans
        1. Forums
        2. MySpace
        3. ComicSpace
        4. Blogging
        5. Comments
      2. The Power of the Press
        1. Press Releases
        2. Comics Press Release and Interview Contacts
        3. A Sample Press Release
        4. Reviews
        5. Fleen
        6. ComixTalk
        7. Tangents
        8. Damn Good Comics
        9. Interviews
    2. Low-Cost Promotion
      1. Store and Convention Signings
        1. Store Signings
        2. Convention Signings
      2. A Book Tour
      3. The Expense
      4. Buying Ad Space on Another Site
        1. Project Wonderful
        2. Create an Ad
        3. Place a Bid
        4. Campaigns
        5. Statistics
      5. Google AdWords
    3. A Final Note on Promotion
  15. 12. Making Money
    1. Revenue-Generating Objects
      1. Advertising
      2. Google AdSense
      3. Project Wonderful
      4. Merchandise
        1. Merchandise: Print on Demand
        2. Presale
        3. Investment
        4. What to Put on a T-Shirt?
        5. Merchandise Other Than Shirts
      5. Books
        1. Books: Print on Demand
        2. Investing in a Print Run
        3. Signing with a Publisher
        4. Preparing for Print
      6. Downloadables
        1. PDF
        2. CBR/CBZ
        3. Comics for Mobile Devices
    2. Revenue-Generating Locations
      1. Your Website
      2. Convention Sales
  16. 13. The Future of Comics
    1. A Large, Untapped Audience
    2. Become Financially Self-Sufficient
    3. The Hardest Thing About Webcomics
  17. 1. Glossary
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